Rogue wouldn't have blamed Steve for not trusting her if she'd lied to him so completely. It was such a relief to know that wouldn't happen now, that she could be open with him in a way she couldn't with anyone else. There were things she wasn't sure she would ever be able to bring herself to share with him, but she would tell him that instead of making up a lie, and something told her he would respect that, at least to an extent. He hadn't pressured her into telling him anything yet, and she didn't think he would in the future, either.

Those little displays of affection were heartbreaking in their perfection, each one everything she'd ever wanted from a 'normal' life. They were so easy to give and accept, each kiss and touch of his skin on hers a gift that she would never take for granted.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through that, sugar," she told him. "I can't even imagine what it's like for you. I've never had someone in my life who was always there; I envy you that." Steve and Bucky had had decades of friendship, nothing she'd had with any of the X-Men even came close to that sort of relationship. "I'm glad he was in your life, though, sugar. That you had someone like that who had your back. I'm so grateful to him for that."